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Column: Maria McErlane: Health and deficiency: Log on, chill out

Picture yourself arriving home from work after a stress-filled day, in need of a drink and a serious unwind. Well, instead of slumping in front of EastEnders, why not go to your computer and log on to www.meditainment.com? If you’re anything like me, of course, your response will be: “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not missing EastEnders!” Nonetheless, I gave it a try. Meditainment, the brainchild of two self-styled computer whizz kids, is the fusion of meditation and, er, well, you’ve worked it out by now.

I was, naturally, harbouring my usual techno-resistance, but as it claims to help with a variety of ailments, ranging from stress to motivation, weight loss (always appealing) and sleep problems, what’s 15 minutes of my time? I was given a choice of 8,000 unique images and sounds that would, according to the honey-toned voice “empower me to be free and enjoy my life”. I could